Within Deep Sorrows
by Lauren Chamberlain
Summary: Mari is a Troll-Human hybrid, which gives her some odd capabilities. What will happen to her when she is captured by highbloods and auctioned off to the highest paying bidder? This is an Alternate Universe where humans and trolls exist on Alternia, but on different parts. They are generally segregated. If you have questions, please PM me or review and I'll reply.
1. Chapter 1

AN: For future reference, I consider a sweep to be 2.5 human years. For example, someone who is six sweeps is fifteen human years, and someone who is ten sweeps is twenty-five human years old.

A girl is dragged into a dark room where she is bound and gagged. This girl's name is Mari. Mari isn't like ordinary trolls. She is a type of mutant. With one parent a human and one parent a troll, she was given many strange and unexplainable properties, and an even stranger blood color- metallic silver. Some of these properties include the ability to change families, or shape-shift in a way. She can look like the main twelve families, as well as all the sub-class families. In her current form, she looks like one of the Vantas boys, but much more feminine. She has beautiful curves most Alternia women envy, but her breasts aren't so large that they overtake her chest. She's fairly short for a troll her age, six sweeps, and is perfectly proportioned otherwise. She has thick, shoulder length, white hair, instead of the normal black. Her excuse for this was that she had taken a fondness to dying her hair that color. She has small, rounded horns on either side of her head, and her eyes are currently bright candy red, but her eye color changes as her form does.

An adult, blue-blooded troll comes into the cell she's chained in and drags her to her feet. A growl rips out of her throat, but the gag keeps any other noise from coming from her. He drags her to a place behind a large stage of sorts, where she is tossed into a line with other, low-blooded trolls. There are adult trolls gathering in seats in front of stage. There are highbloods who are all too happy to spend their money looking for new slaves, and mid-bloods, representing their owners who could not attend and others are serving refreshments. The people there make Mari sick, and she wants to murder them all. She knows, though, that if she isn't bought, she'll be executed or put into labor somewhere else. The emcee announces that the auction is beginning, and the troll at the front of the line is taken out onto the stage.

Each troll in front of her gets taken onto the stage, one-by-one, and bought by some highblood, or if no one will bid, taken to somewhere she doesn't want to know about. When it's finally her turn, he shifts to look like a Makara just before they drag her onto the stage. The audience's reaction is one of shock and anger. People start speaking loudly, saying highbloods are not to be bought. Someone comes over with something and electrocutes Mari, and she screams around the gag in her mouth, unable to keep her form and in pain. Her body shifts between forms of the main twelve families, and the emcee explains that she is very special. A blue-blood, the same one who electrocuted her, pulls one of her arms up and cuts into her skin with a sharp knife, causing her shining silver blood to leak out of her and drip on the ground by her feet. The emcee announces they will start taking bids, and immediately people start calling out numbers. She hears once voice in-numerous times, until it is the only one left. She's dragged off the stage and taken to somewhere where the clean her arm up, unbind, and ungag her, then they take her to meet the person who bought her. The thought disgusts her.

The man who bought Mari is a tall seadweller. He's dressed in violet and black, and he's wearing a cape and shocking amounts of jewelry for a man. He has long, lightning-bolt-like horns, and has two scars on his face. His voice is deep, and he has the accent of the sea-people. "I am Dualscar. But you wwill refer to me as Master."

She growls deep in her throat. "Like hell I will, fucking bastard!" He frowns and slaps her, his rings digging into her skin before he speaks again. "Be a good little girl now, and Daddy will take good care of you..." She blanches at what he calls himself, suddenly terrified of what he's going to do to her, and what sick fantasies he likes to partake in. She mutters a quiet, "Yes, Master," and is lead away to a limousine. Dualscar makes her go in first, and she sits as far away from him as possible as he climbs in next to her and orders the chauffeur to drive them home. He looks over while she's looking straight ahead and trying to ignore the situation she's in. He reaches over and cups his hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"I knoww you're scared, but I'll take care of you. You'll get used to livving in my castle, and it'll be useful for you to stay in a form with gills." He smiles softly, trying to reassure her.

She blushes and looks away. "I, um, already have gills in this form..." He gives her a confused look, as he didn't see standard gills over the sides of her neck. She sighs and lifts up the side of her shirt, revealing her gills. She covers herself as soon as Dualscar sees them, not liking his eyes wandering over her skin. He sighs and leans his head on the back of the seat, relaxing.

They soon arrive at Dualscar's hive, a castle like place. A blue-blood whisks her away and she struggles against his rough hands, not liking the feeling of anyone touching her. Dualscar tells her she'll be okay and that he'll see her in a little while, and for some reason she decides to trust him. She's taken out to a stable house of sorts, where animals are branded. She's taken by surprise as a blue-blood takes rope and ties her hands together to a post in front of her. It's short and she has to bend over for her hands to not get seriously injured. She hears metal clanking against metal, then feels someone move her hair off her neck. A scream rips from her throat as a brand of the Aquarius symbol is pressed to the skin of her neck, marking her for the rest of her life. Silver tears drip from her eyes and the dusty ground below thirstily drinks it's fill.

After she's stopped crying and the pain has subsided for the most part, she's taken to a small bedroom decorated in tones of violet. The blue-blood throws her inside and locks the door behind her. She stumbles and falls to her knees. She'd never felt so helpless in her entire life, as she hates it so, so, so much. She stands and goes to the open door on the other side of the room, and beyond it is a small bathroom, with only a toilet, a sink, and a small bathtub. She quickly rummages through all the drawers in the main room, finding nothing of use. She pulls back the covers and crawls into bed, hoping sleep can give her a false sense of safety, even for a short time. She closes her eyes, and immediately starts dreaming.


	2. Chapter 2

_Mari opens her eyes and sees a world in the distant future where everyone works together. Where blood is just blood, and everyone is treated equally. She sees trolls who look similar to each of the eleven main families. She also sees one more, one that is different than all the rest. He has bright, candy red blood, which is a mutation, like she is. The scene changes to one of present day, in the much nearer future. She sees a man with short, rounded horns that bleeds that beautiful bright red. He's upon a pyke, and it is obvious he is about to be executed. He looks into her eyes, and mouths five words. "You will save us all..."_

Mari wakes with a start at the banging on her door, her mind still caught in her dream. She knows that was not just an ordinary dream, but a vision of the future. She hopes to find that man with the bright blood, and wonders what he meant by his words. Sometimes she can communicate with soon to die spirits in her dreams, and she knows he is one of them. The dream- the equality for all blood colors- spurrs somthing in her, and she decides she will spread this man's word in hushed tones. She knows that he sent that dream to her, that he wants her to preach.

She's pulled out of her thoughts as a blueblood walks in. "Young lowblood, it is time to get up. You have work to do." She stands, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and mutters, "Yes, Highblood," before following him out. He takes her to a bathing pool of sorts, and he hands her some clothes. "Get cleaned up and change," he speaks, "And be quick about it, we have places we must be." She blushes as her mind draws the conclusion he will watch her. He simply sighs and turns his back to her and the bathing pool, giving her as much privacy as he can.

She quickly gets undressed and slips into the water, scrubbing the dirt off her skin and out of her hair. The water is chill, but she finds herself enjoying being clean anyway. She washes quickly as he instructed, then climbs out and quickly gets dressed. She's wearing a simple, long violet dress. She folds her dirty clothes and walks up to the blueblood. "I've finished, Highblood."

He turns and smiles slightly, not showing his teeth. "Follow me." She does as he instructs and he leads her to a small kitchen. "You will be working here for now, until you prove yourself better for something else." He turns and walks out, leaving her with the servants in the room. One walks over and smiles down at Mari, being a bit taller than her. Obviously an olive blood.

"Hello," she says, "I'm Adriel! May I ask your name?" She smiles while all the other servants simply frown or don't look at Mari at all.

"Hi, Miss Adriel, my name is Mari." She gives a slight bow to the higherblood, knowing to keep her manners and she'll get through this all right and may actually live a long life. Well, long for the normal standards, at least.

Adriel simply giggles at Mari's bow. "You needn't bow to me, we're all equal here! Or, at least I think so. Wouldn't you agree?" Something sparks in Adriel's eyes when she talks about equality, and Mari nods quickly, sending her a look telling her that they should talk later in private.

"I do agree. All are equal." Mari quickly changes the subject before a highblood can hear and accuse her of treason. "What shall I do today, Miss Adriel?"

Adriel smiles, leading her into the kitchen. "I'll tell you everything you need to know! First things first, if you ever encounter a highblood, look at them when you speak and don't speak unless spoken to. Never contradict the highlood or correct them. Be polite and mind your manners. Always refer to them as highblood or by their title, never by their name. Second, keep to yourself and do your work, don't slack off. Do this, and you'll live here for a long while. It's how I've gotten by. For now, you'll just help me clean and do dishes."

Mari nods, taking note of everything her instructor tells her. "Alright, that doesn't sound too hard."

Mari helps Adriel all day. She helps do dishes, sweep, mop, and dust. She is lucky enough not to encounter any highbloods, and most of the other servants were pretty nice to her. After the day is done, the servants who cook set out what is left over of the many highbloods' meals, and Adriel pulls Mari into a chair beside her. "At the end of the day, we get to eat, then go back to our rooms. A few of us stay in here every night in case a highblood wants something to eat or drink, but otherwise, we just work days. The meals are usually pretty good, if a little sparse, but you get used to it."

Adriel makes Mari a plate, then hands it to her. Mari eats it quickly, as she had become very hungry, not having eaten all day. She guesses she'll get used to it. There is just enough for everyone to get a plate, and even though she is still hungry, she doesn't dare ask for seconds. "Adriel, is living here alright?"

Adriel stops mid-bite. "It's.. it's okay. They usually don't hurt us, unless we don't do our jobs or get caught slacking off or talking back to highbloods. But ordinarily, it isn't too bad living here. Unless, of course, you become a highblood's favorite. I feel bad for the servants that get stuck in those types of positions. You can see how dead they are inside, how they block everything out." Her bright smile had fallen, but she picks it back up quickly. "But don't worry, I'm sure you and I will be just fine!"

The lowerblood simply nods, then gets up and quickly washes and dries her won dishes before putting them away and walking to her room. She lays down in bed, and it only takes a few moments for her to falls asleep, having more dreams of freedom from the hemospectrum, and dreams of the candy colored man...


	3. Chapter 3

AN: TRIGGER WARNING! BLOOD AND GORE IN THIS CHAPTER!

* * *

Mari was working in the kitchens again with Adriel. She was carrying an armload of fine china across the room when another servant bumps into her and sends her to the floor, along with the plates. The glass shatters and turns the skin of her hands and knees to ribbons. She cries out in pain and Adriel quickly runs over, as well as a blue-blooded guard tasked with watching the slaves to make sure they stayed on task. He yanks Mari to her feet and she yelps again as her silver blood stains his hands. Adriel puts her hand on his arm to try and get him to let go. He simply takes his arm off Mari and slaps Adriel hard enough to make her head yank to the side and an angry olive mark to appear on her cheek. "ADRIEL!" Mari attempt to yank free of the blueblood and help Adriel, but he simply grabs her arm again and yanks her out of the room and towards Dualscar's private quarters. He knocks on the door and is told to enter, dragging the struggling Mari with him.

Dualscar is sitting at a desk, writing something. He sees all the blood and gives the blueblood a look of distaste. "Wwhy did you feel compelled to bring me this bloody mutant?" The blueblood gives a simply reply.

"She has come for her punishment, Highblood." He throws Mari forward and she trips, falling onto her hands and knees before Dualscar. "She broke your finiest china, the set Her Imperial Condescension gave you for your last Wriggling Day."

Dualscar's eyes widen. "She WWHAT?!" He gets up and strides over to Mari, grabbing her hair and yanking her to her feet before throwing her at the blueblood, and she stumbles before falling into his arms. "Wwhipping post, twwenty lashes." He turns and goes back to his work, dismissing them without words.

The blueblood bows and forcibly yanks Mari out of the room, taking her outside to the stables. He drags her to a place behind the stables themselves, where there is a small post with chains. He ties Mari to it, with much resistance from her, then walks into the stable before coming back with a whip. He strips her of her shirt before he snaps the whip across her skin. She screams loudly in pain as it digs into her skin and draws blood. He gives her nineteen more, each more painful than the last. She had started crying around the fifth, and was sobbing by the eleventh.

When he stopped, she was shaking and her back was covered in her silver blood. The blueblood unties Mari and brings her to her feet slowly, helping her put her shirt back on before sending her back to work. When she walks into the kitchens, tears are silently streaming down her cheeks and several servants come over with bandages. They take Mari's shirt off and bandage her, illiciting a few cries of pain and muttered apologies. They had cleaned up the glass, but as Mari got back to work, she could not find Adriel. She decided to ask a scarlett blood. "Miss, have you seen Adriel?"

The scarlett blood turns to look at her. "She was taken away shortly after you were. I'm sure she'll be just fine, Mari. Please, just keep working or we will all be punished. We already have to stay an hour later than usual." Mari gives a quick nod and gets back to work, worrying about the only friend she has in this menacing, dangerous place.

* * *

Mari did not find out what happened to her friend until the next morning. When Mari walked into the kitchens, Adriel was walking around with bandages wrapped around one side of her face and her arm. "Oh my gog, Adriel!" She quickly goes over to check on her bubbly olive blood, worried for her well being. "What happened?!"

Adriel turns to look at her, and a smiles creeps across the half of her mouth that is visible. "I'm fine, Mar, it's not that bad. I was punished for defying a highblood, perfectly normal. Are you alright? I heard you were pretty beaten up yesterday..."

Mari sighs, feeling like it is all her fault. "I.. I guess I'm okay. I can't sleep on my back until I heal and I'm really sore and tired, but otherwise, same as usual." Adriel smiles, giving her a brief hug before getting back to work. Mari follows suit and they work the day away, with no more mention of the wounds, until they are heading back to their rooms and Mari remembers her dream. She speaks in hushed tones. "..Adriel? Have you ever wondered if it was possible for someone other than the highbloods to rule?"

Adriel turns to look at her, speaking quietly and quickly. "Yes, I have. But this it not the time nor place to discuss this. They are always watching us. Keep it to yourself." She mouths a few words, covering it in a fake yawn. Meet me in the rose gardens at midnight tomorrow. We will talk there. Mari nods before going to her room to dream of the man in black and candy red, and the world where everyone is equal.


	4. Chapter 4

Mari found it more difficult than she thought it would be to sneak out of the palace and into the central gardens. There were guards patrolling, and she had to watch the patterns they made before running into the next room or hallway. She was glad her shoes didn't have heels like many of the other servant girls did, as this allowed her to run quickly and silently. As she's running by a hallway, a guard she did not know about sees her. "Halt and state your business!" She pauses and turns to him, bowing to his higher blood color.

"I am simply going to my mistress's room, Highblood. She called upon me and said it was urgent." Mari is suddenly glad she had been taught by one of her "friends" how to lie, and how to do it well.

The guard doesn't quite believe her story, as it is strange for a servant to be about at night. "And who would this 'mistress' be, lowblood?"

She fumbles a bit, but quickly comes up with an answer. "Um... Mindfang! Miss Mindfang is visiting to arrange something with Lord Dualscar, or at least, that is what I have been told." He simply gives her a nod and turns to go back on patrol, and she quickly runs off. She makes it to the gardens without any more delays, and waits in the very center. Adriel walks into the small space that Mari is inhabiting, and smiles.

"Good, you're here. This is the only safe place to talk, but we must still keep it down. You never know when someone decides to go on a moonlight stroll." Mari nods and smiles back before sitting on a nearby bench with Adriel. "Now, tell me about this... Feeling you've been having. Where did it come from so suddenly?"

Mari takes a deep breath before speaking in soft tones. "Adriel, I've been having dreams. Ever since I came here. There are a lot of things you don't know about me, like how sometimes, I can communicate with the dead or soon-to-be dead in my dreams, and can predict the future." Adriel's eyes widen, but she motions for Mari to go on. "These dreams I've been having are being transmitted to me through the mind of someone, and so we can share thoughts. I keep seeing a man, dressed in black and bright red, with a cloak of dark brown and small, round horns, kinda like mine. He shows me his dreams, of a place where blood is only blood and everyone is equal." Mari looks up, wanting Adriel's opinion.

The olive-blooded woman sighs. "This is... interesting, to say the least. And this man... He wears bright red, yes?"

"Candy red." Mari responds quickly.

It is a well known fact that trolls tend to wear their blood color, and Adriel draws the conclusion that this man may have candy red blood. "Well, if he wears candy red he may have candy red blood, which is a mutation. Most- if not all- mutants are killed as grubs in the brooding caverns. He must have escaped somehow. Has he spoken with you directly in these dreams of yours?"

Mari shakes her head. "No, but... i think he wants me to preach to the servants here, convince them to rise up angainst the highbloods. I think he's going to start a rebellion, and we need to help so he can succeed!"

"I'll help as much as I can, Mari, but other slaves may not be so willing. We've all incurred the wrath of the highbloods, seen what has happened to our friends who have crossed them. I cannot assure you that they will follow your lead. The other servants and I all want to be free, and I know at least a few of us are willing to fight for our freedom. I even know a few midbloods who may be willing to help. I will do my best to help you and your dream man succeed. Is there something we can call him by?"

Mari hesitates for a second before speaking. "He shall be called... The Signless."

* * *

Authors Note: Short chapter is short! Sorry about this, but I wanted to leave this on a cliffhanger of sorts and I'm being begged to update For the Love of Science. I hope you enjoyed! Reviews, favorites, and follows are welcomed!


	5. Chapter 5

Mari and Adriel had spoken in hushed tones to the other slaves about Mari's dreams, and had convinced some of them to believe in the word of the Signless, while others were too frightened of possible punishment to even listen. The two girls had spoken to other slaves who worked nearer to Dualscar, and found that there was an uprising going on. Actually, there were two. One that was violent, and one that was not. Mari had explained that the Signless's rebellion was non-violent, but there may be a day when that will change. Mari and Adriel convinced some of the slaves to go work for the Condesce and Grand Highblood to gain even more information. They found out that there had been riots, and many people had been killed already.

Mari's dreams had become different, warning her of events in the near future. She dreamt that the Signless was going to get captured and be executed, and sometimes, the Signless would call to her in her dreams. She knew she had to meet him before he died, and she felt very strongly about this. She told Adriel, trying to convince her to cover her while she goes to meet him. "Look, Mari, I can do it, but you have to be reallycareful. Use that odd ability of yours to look like a highblood, and don't let anyone see your blood. Don't go until it's dark and we're sent off to our rooms, and be back before dawn."

Mari nods and finishes the work day with Adriel, but instead of going off to her room, she shifts to look like an indigo blooded guard and absconds out of the castle. She sticks to the shadows as she runs to the place she had seen in her dreams, an inn. She walks up to the desk manager and speaks very softly. "I'm looking for the Candy Man. It is very impotant I get an audience with him." She passes a small bag of coins she had lifted off a guard to him, and her takes her back to a secret passage. The desk worker takes her down it and into a little hidden shack, filled with dim light. There is a short man with nubby horns sitting at a desk in the corner. He looks over at their entry and smiles when he sees the silver haired girl. "Mari..?"

She smiles, and nods, and the inn keeper takes this as his opportunity to abscond. Mari steps into the room as the door closes quietly behind her. "Are you the Signless?"

He nods. "Indeed I am. But you can call me Karmene." He gestures her over and pulls out a chair, and she sits next to him with a quiet thank you.

"So..." She looks up at him, meeting his red eyes. "Do you really have those weird dreams? Of all those strange people who look like you and the other Heads of Family?"

"Yes, I have really had those dreams. I cannot explain why, but I dream of a world free of the oppression of the hemospectrum. I want this for our world; I want us to have basic freedoms like this. We deserve it." He smiles and changes the subject. "You're quite odd. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Mari blushes, but forces a smile onto her lips. "Well, I was raised alone, by my lusus. He said that I was special, and he kept me away from other people as much as possible. One day, I had to go to town to buy supplies. To my surprise, there were drones waiting for me. It was really scary, but I was treated pretty well for the most part. I have been fed enough, only beaten once. I'm a lot better off than most slaves."

Karmene listened intently, but something was nagging at him. "Mari... Do you know who your parents are?"

She shakes her head. "No. All I know, is my dad is a troll and my mom is human."

He takes a deep breath and gently takes her hand. "Mari, I think it's time you knew. One of the reasons I can communicate so easily with you in your dreams, is because..." He hesitates a moment due to nervousness.

"Mari... You're my daughter..."


End file.
